begin at the leaft Novum Nomen a new name now christened you have two names the one is nomen naturae the other nomen gratiae commonly called Sirname Christen name But objected what am I bettered Much if thou have wit or grace thy two names put thee in minde of thy two natures and with Rebesca that there are two strugling within the womb of thy heart Nature and Grace Old Man New Man the Flesh the Spirit yea thy Sirname puts thee in minde of thy sinful Generation thy Christen Name of thy Spirituall Regenration by the Grace of our Lord Jesus thus whilest the one makes me fear the other puts me in hope whilest the one tells me I am of a sinful seed and to suffer and the other comforts me assuring me I am a Member of Christ Jesus 2. The second good got is recorded Gal. 3.27 I can assure you it is a very comfortable place and a spur to prick every Christian on to baptize their yong ones the words are these Ye who are baptized have put on Christ you are hapt with him as with a garment he is the Robe of Righteousness all over-spreading the late Biptized you are armed with his as with a coat of mail able to bear off all the fiery assualts of the devil Saith the Spouse in the Canticles I have put off how can I put on again Being baptized we put on Christ with a resolve never to put him off any more and it is this Church Cognizance whereby we are known to be of the Household of God The third good got is Admittance into Heaven and hence sayes our Saviour Except you be born again of Water and the Spirit you cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven The Baptism of Water assures the Visible Church that you are made Members of Christs Congregation here the Baptisme of the Spirit when you are of ripe years asserts you shall be Members of the invisible Church hereafter our outward Baptisme ingrafts you into the Church Militant an Ordinance of Grace conducting to the Baptisme of the Spirit being an assurance you shall be admitted into the fellowship of the Church Triumphant if wilfully you sleight this 't is not probable how God will bestow upon you the other the laying hold on this Ordinance within humane reach puts me in hopes to attain that other onely conferred by the Divine Power when I scornfully neglect what proffered by Gods Church what hopes have I to attain that without which I cannot come to Gods Kingdom since you cannot enter into Gods Kingdom except you be born of Water and the Spirit let us use the water lest we deprive our selves of the hopes we have to acquire Gods Spirit The words recorded by the Evangelist are spoke to all of all Sexes Ages and since the major part are Younglings there being more children then men let not us disinherit so many Infants to humour a few Hereticks hinder not your children from Baptism for not having the perfect use of reason since we are unsure whether theelder believe but onely by professiion it were to be wished at one instant we might be baptized flumine flamine with water and the Spirit but the aged may receive the first want the latter Let us then who have prayed for the Infant that he may receive the latter not debar him from the former The Catholick Church way is a safe way to walk in and who so obstinately scorns Baptisme hath small hopes that the Spirit will land at the haven his heart nay 't is to be feared that he shall never enter into the Kingdom of Heaven As none in Rome could enter into the Temple of Honour but first went thorow the Temple of Vertue so none can be admitted into the Kingdom of glory but such who first have had admitttance into the Kingdom of grace And this Sacrament is the ordinary key which opens your children the door that they may enter in by and may rest assured this Water Baptisme takes away the mulct though not the guilt the blame though not the stain and that the Infant baptized who dies before it have usum rationis to sin with a free will shall certainly depart in peace to a place of immortal bliss whither God of his mercies send all of us And so I come to the sixth and last thing to be discust upon Whether it be lawful to baptize Infants in discoursing upon this controversie I shall first set down the Adversaries Arguments against Baptisme and by the help of my God the answer to every of them then give you my Reasons why Infants ought to be baptized lastly shew you the punishments have been enacted to be inflicted upon Anabaptists And because this age is desirous to read much in few lines therefore I will rather offer the courteous Reader matter then words and as much as I can match solidity and brevity both together and with the one win the ear of the more judicious and by the other prove my self not much to prejudice such as have high employments The Anabaptists the more hopefully to lay their foundation against Infants Baptisme have first cunningly gone about to prove rebaptizing lawful which Block I purpose to remove out of our way that so we may the better answer all they object against baptizing Infants To countenance their cause they labour to prove out of the Acts That those whom John baptized that had not heard of the Holy Ghost Paul again baptized To this hear what St. Augustine saith Discipulos Joannis iterum baptizatos fuisse non iterato Baptismate for as Philip Melancton saith Ioannis Baptismum The Baptisme of John was signum mortificationis Christi Baptismum signum vivificationis for to Christs was added condonatio peccatorum oportuit iterum baptizari qui Ioannis Baptismo loti erant quo certi essent se jam consecutos esse remissionem peccatorum To Christs Baptism was added remission of sin and it was most might and right for those who were washed with Iohns Baptisme to receive also Christs Baptism that so they might be ensured of remission of sin by being baptized into the Faith of our Lord Jesus The Anabaptist let him produce any so baptized by Iohn and we shall not refuse them Christs Baptism till such a one be produced this Argument must be shouldered out We have not now to do either with the Novatians who were admitted into the Church without any new Baptism or yet with the Hereticks sprung from the corrupt lungs of Samosatenus who were excluded from being members of the Church Catholick till anew baptized because they denied Fundamentalls but with Anabaptists who will allow no Infant to be baptized and yet this Heresie the very Hereticks called the Donatists and Pelagians cried down It is at least a thousand years since this execrable Tenet sprang up and the new Fomenters of it in Germany were Nicholas Stock Iohn of Leiden and Knipperdolin but now it is ferried over into England
at armes the Doctors of our Church take up the cudgels against Infants whose right to Baptisme is of so long a standing that I find it practised before any Council did decree it and yet to support the Pillars of this Divine Truth the Council of Carthage and the Milevitine Council even both of them accurse for Hereticks all such as detaine Infants from Baptisme The third Argument And now I come to the third Argument which though I have made some use of it amongst my answers to some objections yet it is no spiritual cowardice to draw out the same sword so I wound the adversary more deeply Notum est omnibus it is notoriously known how we have Baptisme instead of Circumcision but very young children at eight dayes old under the Law were circumcised therefore children under the Gospel may be baptized such an Argument that as before I hinted at either must the Anabaptist quarrell with God for circumcising those young children or lese beshrew himself for blaming us who baptize these The fourth Argument God calls on them to come unto him it is an unmannerly part of those Ministers who will not by that door Baptisme let these young ones into their masters house the Church whom himself calls upon would you see who these are turn to the Christning Gospel Mark 10.14 Suffer saith he little children to come unto me and forbid them not It seems even in our Saviours dayes there were some a little too sawcy and burstling against this Doctrine of baptizing Infants The fifth Argument Young children are comprehended within the covenant of Grace witness Gen. 17.7 where said Ero Deus tuus Seminis tut Nay famous is that place Acts 2.39 There sayes St. Peter the promise is to you and your seed and to your children If God be thus open-handed unto us and to our young ones as to pass his promise to them that he will be their God ashamed then may they be who will not let our young ones have the cogniscence how they are his people The sixth Argument Children may be inspired with the Holy Ghost even in utero in the womb and it is a Scripture Argument since these have received the Holy Ghost as well as we what hinders meaning they must not be hindered Baptisme and that a childe may be thus inspired witness that first of Luke where said of Iohn the Baptist how he leaped for joy in his mothers womb and that joy is a fruit of the spirit Gal. 5.22 puts it out of all doubt But replied that was miraculous and so it was yet since children may have Faith I see not in my judgement but how they may receive Baptisme and let me tell you that as children are counted guilty of sin and reputed sinners who never commit any one actual sin so all our children may by counted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 believers who yet have no faith of their own but of their parents And hereupon saith St. Augustin Absit ut ego diâ—am non credentes Infantes God forbid bid that I should say how Infants are no Believers Credit in altero qui peccavit in altero He believes by a Proxie who sinned by a Deputy and is reputed for a true believer and this reputative faith as a reverend Doctor of our Church well observes is accepted of by the Church on the Infants behalf and the rather because it is evidenced by the Baptisme of Simon Magus and all other Hypocrites how it is the profession of faith not the possession of it which is required as the qualification which authorizes the Church to admit the baptized to this Sacrament and since they cannot speak and make this profession because they have not as yet the use of their tongue for this cause it hath been the practice of the Catholick Church to admit of their seconds to profess in their name which well they may since as you know I have proved the promise is made to you and-to your seed and to many that are afar off To conclude it is an unchristian part for a word speaking to make our little ones want their Charter for Heaven The seventh Argument Heaven belongs to young children Matth. 19.14 Are they reckoned among owners of heaven and shall we keep them out of Gods Church on earth shall Christ tell us unto them belongeth the kingdom of Heaven he is an Heretick then that will not by this Sacrament grant them admittance into the kingdom of grace what are our young children for heaven and dare any hinder them for coming into the way which leads unto the kingdome This Sacrament receiving sets you into the very first way for heaven till then we are out of the Church way the streight way to a life everlasting whither God for his mercies send all of us The eighth Argument My last Argument to convince the Anabaptists is taken out of Acts the 16. read the 15. and 33. verses There is mention made of two whole families that were baptized the one Lydea's the other the Jaylors from the example of the blessed Apostles we have liberty to baptize all in the family men women and children And now to give you the colleâ—… of all since the Apostles baptized whole families old and young 2. Since heaven belongs to young children 3. Since it is not the possession onely but profession of Faith makes the baptized capable of Baptisme 4. Since children are comprehended within the Covenant of Grace 5. Since Christ calls on them to come unto him and saith forbid them not 6. Since we have Baptisme left instead of Circumcision and that at eight dayes old that Seal of Grace was in print upon the Infants flesh 7. Since we have the practice of all National Churches Christian to justifie our practice both Greek and Latin old and modern yea all the Fathers which lived in the Primitive Church declaring for us Lastly Since there is no place in Scripture that in the least stands in opposition against baptizing young children but many divine Texts leading us to this business All these reasons seriously weighed in the ballance of an impartial Reader I hope this will give good satisfaction and encourage us to Anathematize that damnable Doctrine of the Anabaptists as also to look upon them as Hereticks and murtherers of the Souls of Infants And now that you may for ever bear in your remembrance how odious were these Heretiques to all Christian Nations for this cause I shall present to the view of the Judicious Reader those heavy Punishments by godly Princes inflicted upon those who were obstinate Anabaptists 1. To begin at Home They have been judged to be burned to death and have suffered by Fire in this famous City of LONDON And let me tell you that if these Fire-locks of the Devil had not now of late by this present Power been suppressed they were a blowing that Coal which would have kindled that Fire which might have consumed Suburbs and City to hot ashes 2. Justinian
the excellent knowledge of Christ Iesus This is that unum necessarium one thing onely needful to know Christ Jesus Iohn 17.3 his birth death resurrection ascention and his for ever making intercession for us This must be subjectum basis praedicationis the subject of our sermons Christ Jesus and the reason is given by St. John the Evangelist who said Haec est vita aeterna this is life eternal to know God and whom he hath sent Christ Jesus O what a plentiful Harvest is here I wish we had had more time to inn this divine grain But as we must reach you to know verbum Christum the word Christ so verbum Christi the word of Christ two places I will press upon you one threatning judgement without repentance Matth. 3.10 where it is said And now also the ax is laid to the root of the tree and every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit shall be hewen down and cast into the fire The other place promising salvation to all that confess and believe Rom. 10.9 the words be these who so confesseth with his mouth the Lord Jesus and shall believe in his heart that God hath raised him from the dead shall be saved I cannot give you a less Manuel of the Law and Gospel the one place steering you off the rock Presumption the other preserving you from being crushed upon the rock Despair while the one threatning punishment the other promising salvation and now betwixt these two the Lord grant we may sail in safely to that haven the kingdom of heaven And so I pass along from the quid to the quomodo how we must teach the people of God the good Word of God Quoad se Quoad nos Quoad se purè integrè Purè purely not teaching for Doctrine the Traditions of men God will not be pleased that we preach what we please the gold must all of it be fined and refined which we hammer upon that anvil the Pulpit we have no licence to disburse any other Peters pence unto Gods people save such as have been delivered to our hands out of the Treasury of the Scriptures And therefore our sacred Bellows have in them no winde to blow and bouy up a people into rebellion against their Sovereign we know better how to interpret that Text Curse ye Meroz then some have done who for I had almost said their unpardonable sin conscience enjoyned a publique penance Again you may long be hearers of Orthodox Divines before they give the least encouragement for a Civil State to rob Christs Church Nor yet hear till that they approve of those numberless Locusts the Enthusiasts who being taught by a white devil pretend Gods Spirit to destroy Christs Gospel No we honour the gospel of Christ Jesus praise God for those that bring purple and fine blue to adorn the Sanctuary and preach ever since we have heard of the mutinous angels obedience to the Sovereign Power under whom we have lived for many years a godly and peaceable life And thus having winnowed out the chaff we feed you with the kernel of the Scripture the Babes with Spoon-meat milk the strong men with Manna meat for Angels neither must we be spiritual niggards but integrè wholly impart and make known unto you the Gospel of Christ Jesus we must endeavour to imitate the Apostle who sayes I have hid no nothing from you What shall we think then of such Ministers that have hid the truth in unrighteousness who many years have concealed while not read the Ten Commandments in our Churches surely these are those new kinde of Ministers that would have their hearers forget their duty to God and charity towards their neighbours What shall we think of those Teachers sprung up of late like Mushrums who have hid while hindered their Parishioners for many years from receiving the Holy Communion Had the good people detained their Tythes when these Mungril Ministers first refrained giving Communion I will warrant you ere they would have wanted the Pig and Goose they would have given you the Bread and the Wine What shall we say now to those Preachers who deptive poor Infants of their jus divinum I mean Baptisme but of this I shall make a large discourse to the Anabaptists shame and our Mother the Churches renown These are the Preachers who have detained from Infants their due and also stoln from us Christs Legacy while instead of peace they have cryed up war in the room of Subjection voted up Rebellion in the stead of Religion brought in Atheism nay their false Doctrine so commonly ventilated hath made as fearful a rent in our Church and State as was at the death of the King of Salem in the Temple of Jerusalem As our sins have brought upon us this misery so none can help us but the King of glory Now Lord for thy ancient mercies sake for thy Son his merits sake be good unto Zion and build up the breaches in the walls of our Jerusalem And thus having prayed for our selves let us look quoad nos at our selves and take into consideration how we the Ministers of Christ Jesus ought to preach the Gospel this must be done with a quick speed deliberate discretion with a constant continuance to joyn all together Haste without discretion is like wings without eyes discretion without haste is like eyes without wings both without constancy is like feet and eyes without an heart First we must hasten to our business and teach saith St. Paul I conferred not with flesh and blood when it pleased God to send me to preach his Son among the Heathen Gal. 1.16 And to shew what speed all the Apostles were to make they are commanded to salute none by the way Remember what Solomon saith As vinegar is to the teeth and smoak to the eyes so is a sluggard to them that send him Prov. 10.26 Remember Peter and John were at the Temple at the third hour of the day Secondly Discretion is mightily required in teaching to make our spiritual receipts we stand in need to be inspired with Gods Spirit and all this to know how much oleum and how much acetum we must pour in 3. We are to hold on teaching for 't is said Cursed is he that puts his hand to the plough and pulls it back A Ministers work is never at an end for as we make the Devil mars we must therefore to our work again as we sowe the wheat the envious man sowes tares when therefore tilth time is past preaching the Law seed-time past preaching the Gospel The weeding time comes in and never ends till our end till you Gods harvest be inn'd into that common barn the grave Here is work for us then all our lives you finde us work a long life-lasting work 't is an hard case to work so long for no wages for small wages nay more for all our pains to be scourged out of the Temple plundered of all our goods as Iob was by the
also all the now Papists and Conformist Protestants and the Presbyterians all concuring in the necessity of Baptizing children building the Structure of their Salvation in part upon this Foundation 2. We take John 3. ver 5. to be a good Scripture ground for Baptizing of Infants where is said Verily verily except a man be born of water and the Spirit be cannot enter into the Kingdome of Heaven Not without the one into the kingdom of Grace not without both into the kingdom of Glory I speak so far as is revealed to us we dare give no farther a warrant then God a precept and must tye our selves to the revealed means though not our God at all times to such tearms as he hath revealed himself to us But this place of Scripture the Anabaptists tell us is to be understood of men of years not of Children who are of less age then the tenth of one year As a reverend Doctor writes they might as well put in an Exception against women no more named then Children This they dare not that they ought not for our Saviour in that place speaks of man Specifice I mean of mankinde of every person sprung from Adam which since the youngest is defiled as well as the eldest as appears by Psal 51.5 therefore Infants while Infants ought to have the Medicine Baptisme administred to them as well as if elder people especially considering it is the onely Church cure to free such who are conceived in sin and born in iniquity from the guilt of Original sin of which Ordinance I take new born Babes to be capable though not Activè yet Passivè for in all the work they are passive being prayed for and belessed and washed and none can doubt but capable of this Seal of grace at those young years as well as the children under the old Law were capable of Circumcision at eight dayes old And this is that Murus Aheneus that Brazen Wall which all the Anabaptists are never able to leap over not yet lay flat but under this Analogy our Children will finde a perpetual shelter for baptisme in the greatest storm of Anabaptists 3. Acts 16. 33. wintnesses how the Jaylor was baptized 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and all that were his his children then were not to be excluded or if they had been to have been debarred doubtless our Apostle would have entred his Caveat against Infants Baptisme and as he said 1 Cor. 1. 14. I thank God I baptized none of you save Crispus and Gaius as also the houshold of Stephanus so â—ere he would have told us how all of the Jaylors household he had baptized but the young ones but his non-exception is a sure confirmation that old and young were there and then baptized 4. I answer how the Anbaptists can bring no express place of Scripture commanding us to give the Sacrament of the Lords Supper to women or for changing the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week nor finde they the Creed word by word in Gods word nor yet the words Trinity and Unity and Unity in Trinity and yet they acknowledge a Trinity in Unity believe the Creed observe the Lords day and give the Communion to Women why then not Baptisme to Children for which we have fair evidence how it belongs unto them And now the premises considered how that many things are approved of for Divine Truths not exprest at large in so many lines of the Text. Secondly since whole families were baptized our Apostle telling us whom he did not baptize but entering no Caveat against Infants Baptisme Thirdly Since Scripture tells us this is the way for man or mankinde to enter into the kingdom of Heaven by being born of Water and the Spirit this water charter being granted by the God of heaven to all men of what age of sex upon earth Fourthly since our Saviour assures us heaven belongs to our young children and that at their years there is no way to free them from their birth-sin and ensure them heaven but by Baptism with these few smooth stones taken out of the bag of the shepheard of our souls we have knockt in the forehead the Anabaptists great grand Goliah argument and made it of as little force as Samson when his locks were shaven And now to pass from our adversaries most material Objections to our Arguments which are as so many Champions to defend the baptizing Infants and my first is this This salve was never forbid us to apply to our Infants sores who are all over wounded with original sin by Adam let the Anabaptists point out where God forbids it and we will leave it methinks it had been time enough to cry out of us for baptizing children when they had shewed us Christs prohibition but where there is in Scripture so universal a silence I know no cause why they should make so open an out-cry we much desire they would cease to quarrel with us on earth till the God of heaven declare for them They tell us how we have no express place in Scripture to justifie what we do we tell them how they have not the least appearance in any text in Gods word which contradicts what we do it were wisdome in them to let us without disturbance baptize our Infants till they finde a Law to condemn us or a Gospel to forbid us The second Argument Our second Argument to justifie baptizing Infants is this Our Doctrine is Catholick and was practised both in the Primitive Church as also till this day in all Nationall Churches Christian You know what is said 2 Thes 2.15 Hold fast the Traditions which I have delivered unto you whether by word or our Epistle Now this Church Doctrine of baptizing Children being an Apostolical Tradition we hold it warranted by Gods word and a Doctrine not to be oppugned especially considering God hath promised to be with his Church unto the end of the world And though the Churches of Asia have their golden Candlesticks removed and are fallen from the Faith yet the Universall Church never erres and of this judgement are all our Learned Divines nor dare our Adversaries make the least Mutiny against it if the question seriously and soberly be propounded to them And now the Task I have undertaken is to prove Infants Baptisme a Church Tenet all the time of the Primitive Church for since it is undeniable for practised by the Greek and Latin Churches witness the Churches in all Graecia where there are Christians as also in Syria in India in Muscovia in Ethiopia And as for the Churches in this part of the world what I have delivered will appear to be truth by the confession of the English Scottish and Irish Churches by the practice of the Romish Church to which I may adjoyne as supernumerated up to my hand the Augustine Confession the Bohemian the Belgick the Helvetian the Saxon with many moe all asserting Infants Baptism for of such as saith our Saviour are the